Showing posts with label Collecting Pallets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Collecting Pallets. Show all posts

How to dismantle pallets to obtain free carpentry wood.

Once you have your pallets (see Where and how to collect pallets if you have had trouble locating them), then the next stage is to dismantle them so as to obtain the maximum amount of quality wood for carpentry. In the following article I will be looking at how to do this in different ways depending on the type of pallet and the fixings used to put it together.

How to take pallets apart for maximum useable wood

INTRODUCTION


The following is a list of tools I use to dismantle pallets.

Tools:
Claw hammer
Lump hammer
Flat-bladed screwdriver
Awl
Bolster chisel
Wrecking bar/ pry bar
Crowbar  130cm
Crowbar    90cm
Lengths of  timber approx 50mm x 75mm
Hacksaw
Nail punch
Pliers

selecting pallets to use in carpentry
Note: I tend to carry the wrecking bar and the 90cm crowbar in the back of the car when I’m out looking for pallets because I frequently find pallets with vertical backs attached, used for the transporting of glass, bathroom and general furniture and these obviously need to be removed from the pallet so as to fit in or on the car.









Safety wear :
Work gloves
Safety boots
Safety glasses


METHOD


Block Pallet aka Four Way Entry Pallet

 

parts of a block pallet


The first thing to do with your pallet when you’ve got it out of the car is look underneath it and see if the nails attaching the planks are visible - if they aren’t, great!

block pallet
This means that the planks (top deckboards/slats) are attached with short nails and should prise off quite easily. If you can see nails they will invariably be hammered flat to the underside of the stringer board. This means you’ll have to straighten the nail before prying the slat off - this will require a little more effort but if the wood looks good quality, it’s worth the effort.


How to take a pallet apart

For the former (straight nail) pallet you need to turn the pallet right way up and put the flattened tip of your prybar under the edge of the slat as near to the nails as possible, if  you have the longer crowbar then use it as a fulcrum by laying it on the pallet behind the prybar otherwise use a piece of timber. If you don’t use an introduced fulcrum then as you prise the slat off, your crowbar will be resting on the adjacent slat and may dent it or at worst, break it.


strategies for taking a pallet apart

I will not try to prise the outermost  and centre slats using this method as these are nailed into the blocks and are much more likely to break. For these it is better to lay the pallet on its edge and use the bolster chisel between the block and the stringer board. 

tips on taking palllets apart

When the chisel is hit with the lump hammer, you may feel the nails ‘give’ and the end of the wrecking bar may be inserted in the gap produced to prise the block away.  This will only happen on your ‘butter-side-up’ days and if you are fortunate to have this happen you will end up with the nails sticking up dead straight. 
 
how to take pallets apart for carpentry

You should then be able to knock these nails back through the slats so as to be able to use the claw hammer or the wrecking bar to grip the nail heads and pull them out.

stratefges for taking a pallet apart

If you are unsuccessful with the above method, then you will need to use a hacksaw to saw through the nails. Keep the saw blade against the face of the block so as to leave the rest of the nail protruding above the stringer board face. 

 How to take a pallet apart for maximum useable wood

Thus, when all the blocks are removed, the nails can be hammered on their sawn faces through the wood to raise the heads above the slat surface for the claw hammer. If the nails are not proud enough to be hammered through, then they can be driven through using a nail punch against the sawn face.

tips for taking a palllet apart

A more brutal method I have sometimes found effective is, with the pallet on its edge on firm ground, strike the lower edge of the block with the lump hammer, this will often move the block away from stringer board face, I have found this to be particularly effective when confronted with blocks made from composite (they look like chipboard). These composite blocks go to the tip/dump and should not be used in any project (or fire for that matter) as they are bonded with toxic adhesives.

strategies for taking a pallet apart for maximum carpentry wood

Finally, the protruding nails on all of the planks need to be removed using the claw hammer.

screwdriver an awl - tips on taking a pallet apart

With the pallets having the bent over nails holding the top deckboards in place, you need to straighten the nails using the awl and the screwdriver. 

 lifting nail point to take a pallet apart 
Push the point of the awl beneath nail and using the screwdriver as a fulcrum, you can lift the free end of the nail away from the wood. 

straightening nails to take a pallet apart

How to take a pallet apart for maximum carpentry wood 

Straighten it further with pliers or tap it vertically with a hammer. The nail can then be driven out from the underside until the head is clear enough for the claw hammer or pry bar to finish the job.


Because the stringer boards are so heavily nailed and of shorter length, I very rarely consider keeping them and that is why they are the surface against which I use the bolster chisel and the hacksaw..


Now, the only things left nailed together are the blocks to the bottom deckboard. Often these bottom deckboards are in poor condition as they are the workface when the pallet is moved around and hence are often split and dirty and not suitable for most projects.

  how to prise a pallet plank from a block 



I have found that the block can be moved enough to provide a gap for the pry bar by the simple expedient of striking it on the side with the lump hammer. Alternatively, if you have a workbench with a vice on it, you can clamp the block within its jaws and using the deckboard as the lever, lift it off the block. I find this technique particularly useful when collecting the nail-free blocks I use in the insect houses.

 

 

DIY insect hotel as a utility box cover

 You can find this project 'An Insect Hotel as a Utility Box Cover' here

 

Stringer Pallet aka Two Way Entry Pallet


Stringer pallet parts - taking a pallet apart


The stringer pallet is often much easier to dismantle as the top deckboards are nailed into the stringers normally with shorter nails than those into the blocks of the block pallet. 

How to take a pallet apart - Stringer pallet


Removing the top deckboards is the same as previously described except, sometimes, I have found that no matter how careful you are, the nail heads pull through the deckboard and remain in the stringer. 

How to take a pallet apart - difficult nails

how to dismantle a pallet - nailsstragegies for nails - dismantling a palletHow to dismantle a pallet for carpentry wood - nail removal
Tips taking a pallet apart

Remove the nails from the stringer using the pry bar. For some reason I frequently find the nail heads shear off when trying to remove them. If this happens and you still want to use the wood, then clamp each protruding shank of  nail in the jaws of the vice and use the stringer as the lever to pull the nail free. All but the most stubborn nails will succumb to this.

How to take a pallet apart - Stringer

That is all there is to it! You end up with loads of useful wood at a fraction of the cost. I will just repeat what I said in my previous post on choosing pallets, for your own benefit you should only use non-chemically treated pallets.

ippc logo wooden pallet

One note of caution: I have needed to smooth the surfaces of the planks for certain projects and I have sometimes found tiny pieces of wire around the nail holes which can foul the plane or tear the belt in a sander. These pieces are from the pallet manufacturing process where the nails in the nail guns are held together with a wire which comes adrift in the nailing process. So, it is always worthwhile to visually check the wood and then go slowly at first with your tools until you’ve established there is no such contamination in your wood.


how to dismantle pallets to obtain free carpentry wood

Now if you'd like to, sit back and watch the film: 

Thanks for dropping by and please feel free to share this article, comment, ask questions and if you'd like to be assured of getting the next post, then sign up to follow this blog.

All the best, Andy

© Andy Colley 2014

Where & How to Collect Pallets - Identifying untreated wood, safety and good housekeeping

Pallets - The Low-down - Where, What and How?


So you've been round to your local big chain supermarket and they've told you all their pallets are reused. Well this maybe true for them but not for all pallets. In Europe consigned/reusable pallets are painted a specific colour, which designates the company who owns them. Funnily enough sometimes bits of these blue and red pallets actually turn up on building sites in scrap wood but they are the least useful of all the pallets and I would never use them. What you are looking for are the unpainted untreated pallets.



The pallet shown above is a very unusual one in that it is an 'in-house' pallet made of untreated wood for the specific purpose of transporting a display stand for an exhibition. It was put out for me after use.

BE PREPARED Any time we are out in our car I carry what I call my pallet finder's kit:

ropes

quality work gloves
 

wood saw

steel toe capped work boots

a hard hat (for entering building sites)

and a red flag!




That way I'm ready for a maximum pallet haul!


For a specific job you may also require thicker or longer timber so you should have a whole range of pallet providers in your recuperating itinerary. Pallet collecting is logical. Firms which transport/manufacture/sell large and heavy items have substantial pallets. So a few of the companies I collect from, for example, are swimming pool manufacturers, exhibition stand makers and a double glazing and joinery firm. All these are small family type businesses. I know the people who own them and/or the foreman. I didn't start out knowing them I just saw the pallets and went in and asked.


The upright from a plant transporter pallet.

Using five of these uprights I created the sides of the greenhouse frame below.






This is one of my first major pallet wood projects and you can find the link to the written article and film: The Five Euro Greenhouse, which shows the detailed construction at end of this post.

After I had made the above greenhouse, I then went on to design and make another but this time combining recuperated glass windows with the pallet wood frame, again there is a link at the end of this post.




Let Companies Know What You Are Doing With Their Pallets


I always make a point of telling the providers why I want the pallets and I ask for their e-mail addresses to send pictures of the finished item. I also give out  links to my youtube site so they can see the films. That way my pallet donors get feedback on the transformation of an eyesore and nuisance which was hanging around their parking lot. There is another side to this too, many of these businesses are only too glad to find I am recycling this resource. As intelligent, thinking people, they are only too aware that their waste is ending up in landfill and/or is being burnt in open fields and they are, to say the least, not very comfortable with this idea. So in repurposing and reusing pallets you are, helping yourself, helping others and helping in the long-term to conserve the planet. Often company personnel will see you entering their premises and bring out pallets fresh from the warehouse, on rainy days this can be very welcome!

Cracking the pallet codes


Understanding pallet 'seals' is an important factor and something you need to mug-up on before you set out on your first collecting trip. There are many sites including Wikipedia, which will explain these but I'm posting this here to give you an example of what you are looking for.

This 'seal' will be located on one of the pallet blocks:

The 'wheat stamp' denotes IPPC compliance, confirming the pallet to be made of de-barked wood. Useful if you were unsure whether the wood was real!

DK -  the country code i.e. in this case Denmark.

8C - the pallet manufacturer.

S5 - the treatment company.

HT - Heat Treated = Gravy!


All wooden crates and pallets in 74 countries of the world have an International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) seal on them. These denote several things but the most important are the bottom two letters - you are looking for pallets with no chemical treatment. In the US fumigation with methyl bromide, coded MB, is more common than in Europe, where heat treatment (HT) is the norm. However, treated pallets do occur in Europe even though you will find several sites informing you they don't! In the case of chemical treatment you will also see the resultant discolouration. Many garden centre suppliers, for example, dip items or conveyor spray them and their carrier pallets simultaneously and you will see immediate evidence of this in the blue-green 'dye' infusing the whole pallet.



Here's something we haven't seen before on pallets but is very welcome. It's the eco label for managed and sustainable forestry. Read all about it here: http://www.sacert.org/woodmark/pefc






Happy Hunting!

All the best and thanks for dropping by and if you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share, ask questions or comment.
Cheers, Andy

© Andy Colley 2014

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A Few Guidelines for Collecting Pallets

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A Few Guidelines for Collecting Pallets

After reading some of the comments on my videos and Flickr, I thought it might be helpful if I shared my five rules to make it easier for you to obtain the basic materials for these or any other projects you may have in hand.

Five Simple Rules


  

My first big pallet project was also a gift - a Birthday Present!

Firstly, and most importantly, I only ever take pallets which are of untreated wood - any signs of discolouration due to paint or chemical treatment render them unsuitable.

Secondly, I always ask if I may have the pallets - this obviously is when the pallet is on the premises of an enterprise or site.

Thirdly, if you do take pallets from a site - leave the area better than you found it. Apart from being courteous, you may want to come back for more and should leave the impression that recyclers  ought to be welcomed. More often than not, after your first couple of visits, the proprietor or foreman will tell you to take the pallets without needing to ask. In my experience, from then on the company will often start saving and putting out pallets specifically for you.

Fourthly, safety - wear thick gloves, as pallet wood is sawn and splinters are a pain. Often pallets are discarded because they are broken (by mishandling with forktruck forks or rough handling) this may expose nail points and sharp pieces of broken timber to unprotected pinkies. Also watch out for mis-nailed pieces, where the staples or nails have not been driven straight into the wood and the points stick out from the pallet sides. Building and construction sites are often great for heavy duty untreated pallet wood, it may be well worth investing a couple of euros/dollars/pounds etc., to get yourself equipped with a hard hat, often required for access to a site.

Fifthly, transport - it goes without saying that to bring your booty home ensure that your pallets are properly loaded into or onto your car or trailer and that the properly secured load can not affect you or other road users.



Recycled window and pallet wood window box.

Remember, you are often doing these businesses a favour in taking away rubbish from their forecourt or carparks. Many realise this is so and welcome your visit. With the recuperated windows and doors used in our house and in the construction of the large Greenhouse, the source was a joinery firm - now specialising in replacement double glazing. The Enlightened Proprietor welcomed us with opened arms, as people willing to give a second life to perfectly sound single and double glazed units, which would otherwise have been burned!


Our Poultry are obsessed with DIY and FOOD!

Here is an example of a reasonably easy but professional looking project for reusing pallet wood.



There are also further details on this design and more information within this blog: http://thegreenlever.blogspot.fr/2011/11/is-for-apple-house-diy-green-gifts.html

All the best and thanks for dropping by.

Cheers, Andy

© Andy Colley 2014